A brand-new song and accompanying music video by Saskatchewan artist, Alexis Normand, shines a spotlight on the beauty and magic of the province. 

The song, titled ‘Hidden Valley,’ is an homage to Eastend, as well as the nearby ‘Hidden Valley of Secrets,’ the stretch of road between Eastend and Ravenscrag. 

Normand said that inspiration for the song struck after she got to experience the beauty of the area firsthand while taking part in an art residency at Wallace Stegner House, located in the little town nestled in the hills of southwest Saskatchewan. 

“I would drive through the Valley of Hidden Secrets between Eastend and Ravenscrag and I discovered the value of hidden secrets and how beautiful it is,” she explained.  

Normand said that Saskatchewan has always been a place of inspiration for her music, although this is the first time that she has released a single in English. 

Formally a member of pop/folk group Rosie & The Riveters, the talented artist has also received recognition across Canada for her solo works in French. 

She was named Francophone Artist of the Year by the Western Canadian Music Awards in 2018 and has been nominated for awards such as the Canadian Folk Music Awards and the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award in her home province of Saskatchewan. 

woman in front of sunset

Normand explained that the freedom and tranquility of her surroundings while attending the residency allowed her to let go of some of the things that were weighing her down, in a time when the world was shut down and she found herself far away from family and friends. 

“It was the place where I finally kind of met myself in my writing and decided to just pull off the Band-Aid on some of those themes that I had been trying to write about but didn't quite know how to find my voice in it,” she elaborated. “As a francophone, for example, growing up in Saskatchewan, there's insecurities that I have around language or insecurities that I have around identity in being both Francophone and Anglophone, and how those kinds of tension points play out in my life. 

“Being in Eastend during the creative process allowed me to really investigate those feelings and express them in my writing in a way where I didn't really feel influenced either way. It was a new to me place, it was a new to me landscape, and it kind of opened everything up for a new record that I'm releasing next year. So, the song is a tribute to the place, but also it bears a really special place in my heart, because of the symbolic nature of what happened for me there creatively. So, I wanted the song to embody that part of Saskatchewan, but also embody the peace that I found when I was up on Jones Peak or just taking in the landscape, whether it was going for walks, runs, or drives in the countryside. I wanted to pay homage to the place that unlocked a lot of the creative process for me.” 

The new single was released in early November and was produced by James Bunton (Donovan Woods, Celeigh Cardinal). 

The music video for ‘Hidden Valley,’ was shot in Eastend and was released on November 15. The video was directed, shot, and edited by Matt Smith. 

woman playing guitar

Normand added that her goal with this single was to showcase all that the province has to offer. 

“I think Saskatchewan has a lot to offer and I love the diversity of the place and also of the landscapes,” she stated. “So, I really wanted to show people that it's not just flat landscapes, there's more to Saskatchewan than meets the eye, and I wanted to bring folks there in the lyrics of my song and the feeling that it conveys, but also in the video that I created.” 

Normand has plans to explore film in the next year as well as release a bilingual album.